I’m usually a fan of Malerman’s novels but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. definitely an interesting premise - told from the perspective of an 8-year-old girl who sees a ghost. I found most of the book meandering, repetitive, and not scary at all. it does have a solid ending, and i was more invested in the parents’ storyline than Bela’s

3.5 stars. This starts off creepy and it continues until the end. There’s a small family: daddo (so annoying reading that so often), mommy, and Bela. There’s also Other Mommy who may or may not be a demon or a ghost or some other entity with ill intentions. I disliked both mommy’s. The ending is not clear and I just hated it so much. This is a very fast read and I enjoyed all of it until the last chapter. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

I was very uncomfortable several times while reading this story. It is so unsettling and creepy yet I couldn't stop reading.

Eight year old Bela lives with her mommy and daddo and also her Other Mother, a entity that visits her and wants to go inside her heart. Bela is not sure what the correct answer is. She thought Other Mother was her friend but she is getting too close and Bela is becoming scared. As Bela's family deals with Other Mother, secrets are revealed to Bela that will change the family dynamics forever.

I absolutely loved this book. It is told solely through the eyes of Bela and formatting is very unique. Both of which worked so well and helped me fly through this book. I will be thinking about the ending for a long time. This is definitely one of my top 5 reads of the year and the most horrifying!

I picked up my arc copy of this book again to see how I felt. I was in the mood for such a creepy read. That is exactly what I got. My first review was for a different book by this author I thought I was reading this one. So let me give you my thoughts on Incidents Around the House. I love creepy haunting /possession books. This one delivered. Bela is 8 years old and loves with her Mommy and Daddo. By the way " other Mommy" lives in their house too. She wants Bela to let her in her heart. Other Mommy is so unsettling and terrifying. I like getting Bela's POV because it makes it more realistic. I feel as a child I would have had so e of the same thoughts. You see her parents going through marriage, work, and issues all through her eyes. I found myself rooting for Bela instantly.
After reading Goblin, and The House at the Bottom of the Lake, I didn't know if Josh Malerman would be the author for me. I hope this isn't just a one off, but this book is so good.

This started out promising as Bela describes her interactions with Other Mommy and her parents start to realize there's something more going on than an imaginary friend. But, when it got to the part explaining Other Mommy's origin, it fell apart a bit. Overall, interesting writing and characterizations but lack of follow through. Also, the formatting of the book was a tad hard to follow, as it was told solely from Bela's side of the conversation.

This book had me wanting the throw my kindle against the wall and scream!

This book was told from the perspective of an eight year old girl, Bela, who is being haunted by an entity we know as Other Mommy.

Other Mommy was truly terrifying at times. When Bela’s parents, Mommy and Daddo, discover Other Mommy they are determined to find a way to rid their lives and their home of the dangerous entity. They very quickly become desperate and will stop at nothing to get rid of it.

This book is living rent free in my head and I don’t know how to get it out. I loved this novel. It is definitely a horror novel and if you aren’t careful it will suck you in and not let go.

I was feeling so many emotions. Anger, fear, sadness and the list keeps going. I just wanted to wrap Bela up in a tight hug and not let go.

This was a 4.5 star read for me and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

When I read of purported Supernatural events, even though my Suspension-of-Disbelief is immediate, I always query:
1. Is this a psychological disorder, a decompensation of the Psyche?
2. Are these actual Supernatural events?
Reading INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, I must add a third, or rather, first inquiry:
1. Children imagine: vividly and extensively. Is this ongoing process of events solely a child's imaginative way of looking at the world?

I imagine the answer(s) may vary according to Reader. So I shall leave the conclusions to your imagination.

As kids, many of us would have our parents check under the bed and in the closet for monsters and of course there was nothing there. Not the case in this book. Bela is our 8 year old narrator who has a Mommy and Daddo who she loves very much. We also learn she has someone else in her life, her Other Mother. This story pulls you in from the beginning and keeps it going until the very last page. We learn more about the relationships in this family as the story progresses and how our pasts will come back to haunt us in our future. This story was the perfect mix of creepy and touching all in one. Daddo is my favorite character, he is his daughter's best friend and tries to do any and everything he can to help her throughout this scary journey. This story made me let my guard down at times and then hit me out of nowhere. That was very unpredictable in the best way. This book helped me get out of my reading slump because I needed to know what would happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a quick, spooky read with real life issues intermingled.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Josh Malerman, & Random House Publishing Group/Del Rey for this ARC, it was excellent!!

This was a quick read and really creepy. I flew through the beginning but by the end it did get a bit repetitive. Took off a star for the ending.

“Can I go inside your heart?”

This book was sooooo creepy and I can’t wait to buy a psychical copy so I can foist it upon everyone this upcoming spooky season! Eight year old Bela has a friend nobody else can see. At first Other Mommy only lived in the closet, but now she likes to sit in Bela’s room. And talk to her about (rein)carnation. Soon Bela realizes Other Mommy might not be her friend after all

Josh Malerman did such a great job creating an unsettling environment. Everyone should feel safe in their home, but after reading Incidents Around the House I found myself not wanting to peer into darkened rooms. I felt like I was watching a movie unfold as I read this book that’s how well described each scene was and if you like scary movies I think you will enjoy this quite a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if Malerman took inspiration from horror movies as this book felt so cinematic and I felt there were a few scenes paying homage to The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity.

And that ending. I’m still thinking about it!

Finally, I’d HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. I tandem read this with the audiobook and the narrator was great!

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for a review copy.

Malerman is a favorite of mine. I’ve read all of his work and have them all. This one is being hailed as truly creepy and I agree. Definitely check it out if you like being creeped out late at night!

Alright, this was definitely a very creepy book, and I was not expecting a child's perspective, which made it even creepier. It's a ghost story, a family drama, a coming-of-age story, a loss of innocence story, and a surprisingly brutal look and love, death, and facing mistakes of the past. It's a lot more than I expected from a horror novel.

So why the 3 stars? Well... A lot of it was repetitive, particularly because of that child's perspective, and there were definitely plenty of sections where I wished the book would move along. As a reader, you understand what's going on more than the main character and, at fist, the gimmick of figuring it out though the eyes of a child is a fresh and intriguing one. But, it quickly gets old, and you're left waiting for the child to figure it out, over and over again. It's also a fairly predictable novel - you may not know the overall arc right away, but you can always tell what's coming next, and especially you can always tell when the spooky stuff is coming (which makes it less spooky). The writing itself, as with previous Malerman books, wasn't anything mind-blowing, though it's to the point and it gets the job done. The ending was... a lot, but after a while I was expecting it.

Weirdly, I think this would be more effective as a novella or a movie because I think the story would benefit from being more condensed. But I would still recommend it to horror fans looking for a family drama driven ghost story.

What I loved: This was scary to me and I am hard to scare! There were some very tense, nail biting moments. I liked Bela and her grandma.

What I didn’t like: the parents are perfect examples of people who should never procreate especially the mom. The last 20% or so felt really long and drug out and the ending was very Blair Witch Project to me and what I mean by that is you know how it’s going to end but the whole time you’re hoping for something different.

Overall it was a great read with some very scary moments. I liked it so much I bought a copy from book of the month even though I got an ARC from NetGalley.

I was so excited to read this ARC but unfortunately this book just didn't work for me. The "unique" formatting in the book made it hard to follow who was speaking, and often resulted in re-reading the same sentences. I've found that child's POV storytelling doesn't work for me as it ruins the writing style and parents came of unrealistic in how they treated and spoke with Bela.

I know a lot of people loved this book but I wasn't a fan.

Josh Malerman is such a talented writer. Incidents Around the House is such a chilling book. An absolutely effective horror novel. HIGHLY recommended to all horror fans!

Thank you to Random House for my copy of INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE. This one is out June 25!

This book was soooooo creepy. I loved it, it was so entertaining until the conclusion. It felt rushed at the end and just needed an ending but honestly, up until then it was a slam dunk for me. I still recommend going on this ride with Josh Malerman.

This book was definitely creepy! I read a lot before bed, and almost didn't want to read this in the dark. I like how Josh Malerman's books all tie in together, a little bit. I was definitely on the edge of my seat wanting to figure out what is going on and if they can get rid of Other Mommy. The narration is done but Bela, who is 8, so it definitely has a childlike aspect to it. Overall, it was enjoyable and creepy!

This is a chilling and fast-paced story from the perspective of 8-year-old Bela as she grapples with the reality that there is someone (or something) living in her closet and no one believes her.
Bela calls her “Other Mommy” and Other Mommy has only one question for Bela: “Can I go into your heart?” Bela is certain she knows the answer but as incidents around the house start becoming more and more frequent, she is questioning the grounds on which her answer is formed.

I’ve never read a horror story from the perspective of a child (R L Stine doesn’t count) and it was really interesting to see Josh Malerman’s use of dramatic irony to convey what was happening as we, the audience, knew what was going on before Bela could.
While the blip describes Bela as an 8-year-old it was never truly stated anywhere in the novel and while reading this I thought Bela must have been around 6 or 7 years old.
I liked Malerman’s stylistic choice of not using proper punctuation for dialogue as it gave the reading a more child-like feel but it did become confusing at certain points to decipher who was speaking and what was internal dialogue.
I found Bela’s dad to be a very likable character but the grandma was my favorite, I think. I would love the opportunity to have a sit-down with Bela’s parents because who do they think they are? No spoilers, but Bela’s mom can especially catch these hands!
I read this book in 2 days which is the fastest I’ve read anything, ever, I think. Partly because it was so good I couldn’t put it down and because it was so scary I needed to know how it was resolved before being able to sleep.
Safe to say I did not sleep well and I needed to call my boyfriend to sleep on the phone with me so I “wouldn’t be alone”…
There are images that will stick with me forever and I don’t know if I should ask for financial compensation or give the author a high-five..

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

I received an ARC in return for an unbiased review of Incidents Around the House.

The writing style, in reference to how Malerman does dialogue, took some getting used to. This is my first book by Malerman so I'm unsure if this is just his style or specific to this book. But I eventually got used to it and everything flowed a bit better as I was reading. As did my feelings toward Bela, she was a bit annoying at first, as are most 8 year olds I suppose but still, she got a bit better as things ramped up.

I really loved the entirety of the book once it was all said and done! And I absolutely want more of the story because it feels like there was more. 😂

The characters were all...fine. Daddo and Grandma Ruth were great, Bela got better, Mommy was...well I know we aren't supposed to truly enjoy her. Brian, WTF? I want to know for sure what Other Mommy so I can fully understand why Brian is so excited about seeing and touching "one of them". Was is ever stated that she was for sure a demon and I missed it?

Reading from the lake scene and on late at night and all of a sudden my kid is in the door way....dear god, I yelled at him. 😂 don't worry, he's a teen.

Josh Malerman is doing his best to make himself the best horror writer working today. Since releasing Birdbox, he has had a new release almost every single year, and each one of his books is fantastic. His new novel, Incidents Around the House, might be the novel that cements him as not only a household name in horror but in all reading communities.

Narrated by Bela, the eight year old child of Ursula and Russ, there is something in their house, an entity that wants Bela to call her “Other Mommy” and allow her to “enter her heart.” When Other Mommy starts to show herself to other people besides Bela, like her mother and father, people at a party, and everywhere Bela tries to go, the novel becomes a novel of a mother and father trying to protect their child, fighting for survival, while working through the problems that they have in their marriage. They think that being a team will be the only thing that will drive Other Mommy away.

This story moves fast, and this creates a tension that rises and rises. The reader is about to break along with Bela and her family. Malerman makes us feel like we are part of the team, trying to come up with the plan to fight this threat by creating an empathy toward Bela’s mother and father. Bela's parents are deeply flawed, making mistakes in their marriage and in their lives. The fear and threat of Other Mommy makes them reevaluate themselves and their worry feels genuine and palpable. Anyone who is a parent of a child that sees a poltergeist coming out of their closet would have the same reaction, not only of fear and anger but also of protection, You would do exactly what Bela's parents do, try to keep yourself between the entity and your child. Malerman makes the problem they have a human one. Unlike many horror novels, the parents in Incidents Around the House look for answers, for an expert on the internet, for some sort of help, and there is none. The feeling that this is how the situation would play out in real life, that there were no real experts to get rid of a spirit haunting your house is well explored. 

This is the fifth Josh Malerman book I have reviewed, and this is high on the list of his best work. I like the characters, the story moves swiftly, and in the end, all we want is for Bela to be able to go back to being an eight year old again.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.